Why is Wikipedia seeking donations from Indian users?

Team Udayavani, Aug 9, 2020, 1:15 PM IST

Wikipedia recently explained the reason behind its recent fundraising campaign in India where it asked users to donate money.

The small red box in the Wikipedia page reads, “If you use Wikipedia a lot, This message is for you. We depend on donations from exceptional readers, but fewer than 2% give. If you donate just ?150, or whatever you can…Wikipedia could keep thriving. Thank you”

Why is Wikipedia asking for donations?

Wikipedia is owned and run by the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) which is a nonprofit organization.

According to EDtimes, Wikipedia operations are run on funds collected mostly through donations. Each year, it costs $25 million to run the site. Wikipedia is edited by volunteer editors across the world who are unpaid.

Wikiepedia foundation in a blog post wrote, “We are not driven by profit or advertising incentives. We are a charitable organization supported by the people who read Wikipedia. Our mission is to ensure that everyone, everywhere, can share in and access free knowledge”

“Reader donations are critical to supporting Wikipedia’s global presence. To meet the needs of readers in India and around the world, we operate an international technology infrastructure comparable to the world’s largest commercial websites” the company added

In 20 years, Wikipedia has amassed over 50 million articles in nearly 300 languages. While donations help pay the salaries of its staff members, the volunteers contribute their services to the website for free.